Epilogue – Week of February 9th

I’ll start with the easiest piece – AOTW. We had a battle of winners and the $10 BIN lid won. She joins the half-a-figure with the $52 BIN as AOTW Battle of the Champions winners. They simply must wait for two more contestants.

I don’t want to jump right into AOTW. Let me slowdown and back-up a bit.

I had a Year in Review post, but I didn’t finish it. I didn’t think the post was very good and I abandoned it. It is only the second third post I have ever quit. They all sit in my draft folder unfinished. What were the other two? (I’m assuming you ask to yourselves.)

The first was an editorial about using the term “Flesh.” I have always thought it was a dumb term. The original M.U.S.C.L.E. figures were NOT Flesh colored – not even close. However, as I wrote it the write-up got way too long. It was stuff I thought was important to mention, but ended up a hot mess.

The second was “My Worst M.U.S.C.L.E. Memory.” It wasn’t a large rant. I kind of thought it might be fun for people to share similar personal stories. Mine was this M.U.S.C.L.E. t-shirt. Alec sent me one to be nice, for promotion, and/or both. I never kept it. And I probably said something like, “Dude, I can’t take a t-shirt for free. I should send you some figures.”

I have since learned to just accept and move on. Anyways, Alec became slighted or upset or something – I don’t know. Before I posted the write-up I learned he was dead. It didn’t see like the right time to share that story.

Let’s take a look at eBay.
– This guy (lukekneewalker) has 698 single figure listings. Forget how stupid his prices are for single figures. Trying to sell 698 individual M.U.S.C.L.E. figures on eBay would be my seventh level of hell. No, not deep enough. It would be the center of hell. I can’t properly articulate what a nightmare it would be for me.

Frankly, I hope this guys sells all 698 figures. If you’re willing to take on that soul-crushing task, then you desperately need the money. Plus it will clear-out 698 shitty listings.

I have two eBay questions for you guys. Here’s why I have the questions, I’ve only had one eBay account and I have never changed my name. I’ve never considered opening another account and I’ve never considered changing my name. But I know some people have done both. Why?

Because both things have never crossed my mind it is hard for me to understand why someone would do it. Help me out.

How many eBay accounts have you had?

One (93%, 13 Votes)

More Than Four (7%, 1 Votes)

Two (0%, 0 Votes)

Three (0%, 0 Votes)

Four (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 14

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How many times have you changed your eBay user name?

Never (64%, 9 Votes)

Once (36%, 5 Votes)

Twice (0%, 0 Votes)

Three Times (0%, 0 Votes)

More Than Three Times (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 14

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Ok, let’s wrap-up with our AOTW combatants. The AOTW #1 is a 4-pack with a $25 BIN. Of course, it is open and missing two figures. I’m surprised that the seller didn’t say, “Unpunched!”

The AOTW #2 already had a win before they entered the competition. AOTW #2 knocked this guy out of the competition. The AOTW #2 said, “Why pay $500 for four 28-packs? You can pay $500 for THREE 28-packs!”

The AOTW #3 wants you to pay $2.65 per M.U.S.C.L.E. figure. Ok, how many figures? 500. That works out to a $500 BIN. We could probably track this listing for quite some time.

Finally, the AOTW #4 features the infamous Future Man figures. These figures were a staple of early M.U.S.C.L.E. eBay listings. They were pretty unpopular because they were ugly copies. The packages often included random pieces of rubber – just like this one. This seller has a $120 BIN. I can’t imagine any person is still looking for these figures. If they are, then they aren’t spending $120. I think they were unsold at about $5.

Cast your vote and crown the next AOTW Fatal-Four Way winner. Here are the four combatants:

There was sadness when our ULTIMATE AOTW Battle of the Champions Fatal-Four Way Winner #1 was no longer selling her empty box.

We thought this was the fine image of our old friend.

It was painful to consider our journey was over. We watched as she started at $250. Unable to sell it, dropped down to $160. The drops continued: $149, $145, $139, $135, $125 and finally $120…for a beat-up, empty box.

When she did stop, we knew there was a zero-percent chance it actually sold. It is an empty box. M.U.S.C.L.E. collectors see crazy things, but this sale was simply impossible. Plus, there is no feedback posted by either party.

We now have irrefutable evidence the box did not sell. It has been relisted with a $150 BIN.

Oh dear lord. Some other dope has “bought” the box and there is feedback from the buyer this time. Interesting that the seller didn’t leave feedback.

I think there is zero percent chance this belt has actually sold. It will be relisted. Pay attention sellers, this winner perfectly demonstrate the level-of-asshole it takes to be an ULTIMATE champion. She truly is the ULTIMATE AOTW Battle of the Champions Fatal-Four Way Winner #1.

Our inaugural champion has a very worthy companion.

The initial listing for the $3 figure was for $1500. The entire story was covered in AW #284. Apparently, there’s still a little more to add. The figure is STILL for sale with a $100 BIN.

This seller probably could be a repeat winner with their other listings.

An original SHA, with the head spur still attached, in the original Flesh color was sold for about $185. This seller is attempting to sell a yellow, headless version for $1,000. That is the level of commitment needed to become the 2nd ULTIMATE AOTW Battle of the Champions Winner.

Sadly, it looks like our second champion has paused their grifting efforts. I do not see the figure for sale, nor do I see any feedback.

This entry was posted on February 14, 2020, 6:00 am and is filed under UofM News. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0.
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I’ve had the same account since about 2002. I was fairly active with it for a few years, then didn’t use ebay for about five years.

When I came back to it I updated my username along with my other contact info. There is no real reason for the change other than I liked the new name better. Not having used the account for so long it especially didn’t seem to matter either way to anyone.

I would also note that to date I have never sold anything on ebay. I have always been a buyer, which may or may not be a factor in interpreting the data you are compiling.

I’ve had the same eBay account since March of 2000. The only reason why my user name changed is because at some point, eBay didn’t allow email addresses as user names and changed mine for me. I just left it to what they changed it to.

I like the idea of people sharing their worst M.U.S.C.L.E. stories. I’m going to take the time to share my worst one. Back in the 80’s, I had a friend that I would only see when he visited his grandmother next-door. We had a lot of good times playing together, but on a rare occasion, we would get into an argument over something. This time, it was in regards to figure 204. He really liked turtles and he wanted it, but I didn’t want to part with it because I was trying to collect the whole set. It was, also, exclusive to a 28-pack, which I wasn’t going to be able to get my hands again back then. Anyway, he got mad and threw it up into the crotch of the enormous maple tree in his grandmother’s backyard. In that moment, my dreams of collecting a full set were dashed to pieces. It didn’t take me long to forgive him, but it was too bad nonetheless. The tree is still there and I sometimes wonder what happened to it. If it was eventually blown out of it, or if it was chewed up by an animal like a squirrel, or if it’s still there stuck in the tree as it continued to grow.